Indira Canteen to open at Thokkottu today

Indira Canteen to open at Thokkottu today

Mangaluru, Mar 22, 2018: The first hobli level Indira Canteen in the state will be inaugurated near Thokkottu bus stand in Mangaluru assembly constituency limits today, March 22, Thursday.

Minister for food and civil supplies and consumer affairs U T Khader, who is also the MLA and in-charge Minister for this constituency, said he will dedicate this facility to the public. All Indira canteens in the state operational thus far are in the district headquarters and Thokkottu is an exception to this norm, he said.

Khader said plans are afoot to change the timings of the canteen from present 8am to 10am to 7am to 9.30am. This is being done to help labourers, daily wage earners who are required to reach their work places early, he said, adding timings for lunch and dinner served at the canteen will remain unchanged. Pickle and boiled rice has been added to the afternoon menu based on public feedback for canteens in the city, he said.

The canteens will continue dispensing 500 food tokens for each of the three sessions of the day, Khader said adding footfalls at the canteens in the city barring the facility at Urwa Store that also houses the master kitchen, are in sync with tokens dispensed. The committee headed by DK DC S Sasikanth Senthil will take a decision on modifying the menu as per local demands and the same will be cleared by the high powered committee in Bengaluru, Khader added.

On the future of these canteens in case the Congress does not come to power, Khader said this being a government programme, will continue irrespective of the party that rules the state. “We continued the Vajpayee Arogya Shree programme started by the previous government and went on to broadbase and implement it pan-Karnataka,” Khader said, adding the thrust of these canteens is to provide affordable means for people economically backward.